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Centre for Sustainable Business

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Centre for Sustainable Business
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Finding practical solutions to real-world problems

The Centre for Sustainable Business was established in 2015 to bring together University of Chichester researchers and business communities and find practical solutions to real-world problems. Our work operates at the intersection of applied research, practice, consultation, knowledge transfer and continuing professional development (CPD).

Through over a dozen regional sustainability initiatives, working with a wide range of businesses and government bodies, we have helped hundreds of sustainability workers in the Channel region to reframe and implement policy in economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable ways.

Our research-led interventions have led to the development of sustainable supply chains for offshore wind farms, the enforcement of EU competition rules governing Channel Tunnel freight flows, and the widespread adoption of policies to prevent the pollution of rivers and coastal waters.

We have ongoing relationships with a wide range of partner organisations, including the Brighton-based specialists in organisation development and design, Mayvin Ltd, the Humanistic Management Network, and the Environment Agency.

Lecturer pointing to a screen in a class

Dr Dawn Robins

Senior Lecturer & Research Coordinator

Professor Rob Warwick

Professor in Management and Organisational Learning

David Goodman

Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Management

David Grindel

Lecturer in Operations and Business Management

Paula Jenkins

Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management

Dr Robert MacKenzie

Visiting Professor

Dr Rehanet Isa

Lecturer in Accounting and Finance

Searching for sustainable solutions to business problems

Interreg logo

Working with a wide range of partners, we have attracted considerable external funding for our research – particularly from the EU INTERREG programme, which supports cross-border cooperation and searches for solutions in areas such as sustainable energy, transport and the environment.

Since October 2017, this €4m EU INTERREG-funded project has been focused on improving the water quality of rivers and lakes in the South of England and the North of France by encouraging farmers and landowners to adopt more environmentally sustainable practices. The Centre for Sustainable Business is the lead partner on the project, among ten others from both sides of the English Channel.

The project works by piloting PES (Payment for Ecosystem Services) initiatives across the Channel area. The schemes offer financial incentives to farmers to encourage them to reduce the levels of nitrate water pollution in the run-off from their land, maintain soil health, and increase crop yields through increased crop diversity.

Maritime industry in the Channel region has often been challenged by disconnected and incoherent strategies and procedures, as a result of which adherence to regional trade regulations has often been inconsistent.

The Channel Arc Manche Integration Strategy (CAMIS) was a 21-partner EU INTERREG IVa-funded (with the Centre awarded €350,000) programme aimed at designing an integrated maritime strategy in the Channel area that recognised how cultural, administrative and geographical factors were preventing policy adherence.

We worked specifically on maritime clustering and transport, concentrating on topics such as marina clustering, port centricity, and offshore renewable energy.

In 2017, the Centre for Sustainable Business received funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development to undertake research to support sustainable development policy in the Manhood Peninsula, a coastal region near Chichester that suffers from economic isolation.

Sustainable Tourism on the Manhood Peninsula (STOMP) was the result, replacing the expired Destination Management Plan (DMP) for the Manhood Peninsula in 2018. Our decision to prioritise development plans in conjunction with a wide range of local residents, businesses and councils laid the groundwork for sustainable planning, whilst also attracting funding from local tourism businesses.

The research recommended the formation of a locally-focused Destination Management Partnership to facilitate regional development (Manhood Peninsular DMP). It also recommended that the local authorities’ practice of promoting a short summer tourist season was holding back the growth of yearlong tourism, which is steadier and more dependable than a seasonal business model.

Our researchers drove improvements in leadership capability and organisational development in two Sussex-based NHS Trusts and the UK Civil Service’s Organisational Development and Design (OD&D) Service.

They achieved this through an iterative process of research and leadership development carried out between 2013 and 2018, which drew on our distinctive research base in action learning and leadership impact.

Browse our recent publications on our ChiPrints page.

How we’re helping create change

Our work has led to significant and far-reaching impact for a diverse range of stakeholders in the Channel region.

The Channel Payments for Ecosystem Services (CPES) project is producing considerable changes to agricultural practices and the wider environment. In Normandy, there are already more than 75 farms (of various sizes) contracted to PES, while in England the project is also influencing major environmental stakeholders, including Natural England and the Environment Agency – all of which have embedded CPES research into their sustainability policies. A suite of reports and spin-off initiatives are ongoing that will drive home the importance of PES schemes in tackling pollution in rivers and water courses.

Our work on renewable energy clusters led to three projects focused on renewable energy: Kent, Rampion and Channel-Mor. We also undertook research into the region’s most important shared territorial asset, the Channel Tunnel, where we found significant problems with the level of freight traffic caused by issues concerning the Tunnel’s ownership and operational practice. As a result of our interventions, the EU Commission sent a public letter to Eurotunnel enforcing regulatory compliance, and the British Government debated the issue.

Closer to home, our researchers’ work with public sector leaders was credited with generating wide-ranging cultural improvements in the Civil Service’s Organisational Development and Design (OD&D) Service, and contributing towards the most significant improvement in one NHS Trust’s Care Quality Commission rating ever achieved.

The Centre for Sustainable Business holds regular research seminars, talks and publication launches.

Look out for upcoming events listings on this page.

Professor Rob Warwick

Professor in Management and Organisational Learning

Dr Dawn Robins

Senior Lecturer & Research Coordinator